"Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart." ~Ecclesiates 5:19-20
“ Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”
~ Luke 8:39
Presenting with excitement, I introduce to you Testimony Tuesdays!!! A testimony by definition is: a formal written or spoken statement, a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience. The Bible commands us in numerous places to bring praise, glory, and honor to our God by proclaiming, declaring, and telling about His marvelous works to others. That is the purpose and heart behind this installment for my Tuesday posts. Each Tuesday (more or less), a testimony will be shared here involving the recounting of salvation, redemption, overcoming, and/or healing just to name a few; A story that brings glory to our God and in which we might be encouraged, spurred on, and challenged with at the same time.The stories that will be shared will either be of my own personal experiences, excerpts from books, testimonies I find via youtube or other media sources, as well as YOURS! I would love to know and give you the opportunity to share here with us a testimony of your own, of whatever fashion that involves the Lord doing a transforming work in your life. Just email me your testimony and I will see what I can do about posting it on a future Tuesday! You may choose to have your name be known or anonymous. I look forward to hearing from you!
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In my opinion,insecurity, self esteem,and body image issues are some of the most under-rated, overlooked forms of spiritual bondage out there, which is a shame because the emotional and physical wounds they inflict on people can be catastrophic and can go so far as to virtually incapacitate.
Today I would like to share with you this YouTube video I found of female vocalist, Amy Perry from the Christian contemporary vocal trio 'Selah' performing one of my favorite songs called 'I Look To You'. Additionally, Amy shares with us a bit of her personal struggle with body image issues.
Amy Perry's story really hit home for me because body image issues were something that I too once struggled with. The society and culture that we live in today do not make things easy for us women. Satan really knows how to use them against us to bring us down. Battling with body image and food can be a frustrating fight. After all, you can't just stop eating (...a common temptation many women are led to believe is a perfect and easy solution, but is actually NOT; it's not a solution at all, as the roots of body image issues really go much deeper then solely the physical)! During my season of struggling with these things I just felt so hopeless, alone, and trapped. But I hope you are encouraged by what Amy shares with us in the video below. Our value goes beyond just how we look, and hope and freedom can be found in forsaking ourselves and surrendering to Christ.
The song 'I Look To You' was actually written by R. Kelly and was originally first performed by Whitney Houston debuting in 2009. I did not first hear of this song until 2012 though, when as Ballet Magnificat trainees we were given some choreography to dance to Selah's version of it. Check out my friends performing the choreography at a 'Women of Faith' conference here. This song and dance have become quite special to me, and even more so after hearing Amy Perry's testimony paired with it! I hope you enjoy the video below and are blessed!
Happy Tuesday! Thanks for Stopping by! Can you relate to any of this? What did you think about Amy's story?
“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”
~ Luke 8:39
Presenting with excitement, I introduce to you Testimony Tuesdays!!! A testimony by definition is: a formal written or spoken statement, a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience. The Bible commands us in numerous places to bring praise, glory, and honor to our God by proclaiming, declaring, and telling about His marvelous works to others. That is the purpose and heart behind this installment for my Tuesday posts. Each Tuesday (more or less), a testimony will be shared here involving the recounting of salvation, redemption, overcoming, and/or healing just to name a few; A story that brings glory to our God and in which we might be encouraged, spurred on, and challenged with at the same time.The stories that will be shared will either be of my own personal experiences, excerpts from books, testimonies I find via youtube or other media sources, as well as YOURS! I would love to know and give you the opportunity to share here with us a testimony of your own, of whatever fashion that involves the Lord doing a transforming work in your life. Just email me your testimony and I will see what I can do about posting it on a future Tuesday! You may choose to have your name be known or anonymous. I look forward to hearing from you!
Being shared with you today is the testimony of the beautiful Kirsten Haglund, presented by a ministry called I AM SECOND. These people are fantabulous! They have been around since 2008 and are just really good at doing what they do! Multimedia and the World Wide Web are their platform. They produce high quality, artsy, emotion evoking short films featuring different people from all sorts of walks of life, sharing their life stories climaxing at the point of them deciding to put Jesus first in their lives. I love how raw the testimonies are and how approachable God seems to be after hearing them. These films bring some of the greatest celebrities down to our level, making them relatable; reminding us that they are human just like us. It is real people sharing real stories about a real God who offers real forgiveness, redemption, healing, mercy and love.
Honestly, I had never heard of Kirsten Haglund before I ran into this video. I guess I've never really been so big into Pageants and stuff. According to her website http://www.kirstenhaglund.com/bio/ and some research I conducted on her, she is most known for serving as Miss America in 2008.
When I first heard her story I was shocked because it was uncannily similar to my own. The battle with body image and food is not a fun one. After all, you can't escape yourself or stop eating. During my season of struggling with these things I just felt so hopeless and trapped. Satan loved having me in that place and the worst was when he had me thinking I was the only one. It is always so comforting to hear from people who've struggled similarly. We are reminded that we are not alone, and that there is hope. After I watched the video clip below, I was so encouraged. Kirsten's testimony presents a clear picture of deliverance from slavery and into freedom, by the power of God and I know that He (God) desires to do that work of redemption in all of us. Let's put ourselves second.
To view a more casual interview about Kirsten Haglund and here life, check out this video listed on Youtube HERE.
“For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”
~ 2 Peter 2:19
“But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
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